US Coast Guard Drug Test Meridian MS

Health Screenings USA provides U.S Coast Guard drug testing at testing centers in Meridian MS and the local area, which will comply with all requirements of the U.S Coast Guard and Merchant Marines for obtaining or renewing a Captains License or other covered positions required by DOT regulations. Coast Guard drug testing Meridian MS centers are located in most cases within minutes of your home or office.

To schedule a Coast Guard/Merchant Marine drug test, Call (800) 219-7161 or Online 24/7!

Health Screenings USA also provides form CG-719P in conjunction with the U.S Coast Guard drug test.

A Coast Guard drug test Meridian MS service is a 5 panel DOT regulated drug test and requires a DOT Certified drug testing specialist to administer the Coast Guard drug test Meridian MS procedures and insure that a Federal Chain of Custody form is used with the Coast Guard drug test Meridian MS service.

All Coast Guard drug test Meridian MS services are analyzed by SAMHSA Certified Laboratory and reviewed by a Medical Review Officer (MRO) in accordance with U.S Coast Guard drug testing regulations.

The staff of Health Screenings USA is trained and certified in administering a Coast Guard drug test at all Meridian MS locations and our Coast Guard drug testing Meridian MS services are provided in a courteous and professional manner.

USCG Drug and Alcohol Testing

Pre-Employment Testing

Regulatory Requirements – A marine employer must conduct a drug test prior to employing any crewmember. The prospective employee must pass the test before employed, not merely take the test.

Pre-employment testing waivers – A prospective employee need not be tested if that person has proof that, within the previous six months, he/she passed any Coast Guard-required drug test, or has, during the previous six months, been subject to Coast Guard required random testing for at least 60 days and has not failed or refused a test. “Being subject to random testing” does not mean the individual has to have actually been tested, but has been eligible to be tested. An employer is not required to exempt prospective employees from pre-employment testing.

Random Drug Testing

Regulatory Requirements – A marine employer must establish a program for random drug testing of:

(1) crewmembers on inspected vessels who:

a. occupy a position, or perform the duties and functions of a position, required by the vessel’s Certificate of Inspection;
b. perform the duties and functions of patrolmen or watchmen required by Coast Guard regulations; or,
c. are specifically assigned the duties of warning, mustering, assembling, assisting, or controlling the movement of passengers during emergencies.

(2) crewmembers on uninspected vessels who:

a. are required by law or regulation to hold a Coast Guard issued license to perform their duties;
b. perform duties and functions directly related to the safe operation of the vessel,
c. perform the duties and functions of patrolmen or watchmen required by Coast Guard regulations; or,
d. are specifically assigned the duties of warning, mustering, assembling, assisting, or controlling the movement of passengers during emergencies.

Definition of Random

Random, for these regulations, means that each of the crewmembers has a substantially equal chance of being selected. An employer may randomly select vessels, rather than individuals, testing all applicable crewmembers. A crewmember’s substantially equal chance of selection must remain throughout their employment. This means that you cannot allow periods when an employee is “free” from chance of selection, or allow high-risk/low-risk selection periods to exist. The dates of testing must also be random. For example: randomly picking names each payday is not acceptable, because the date is predictable and the employees could “beat” the test.

Testing Rate – The annual rate of testing must not be less than 50%. No other tests, such as post accident, can be counted toward the 50%.

Reasonable Cause Drug Testing

Regulatory Requirements – A marine employer shall require any crewmember who is reasonably suspected of using a dangerous drug to be chemically tested for dangerous drugs. When the marine employer determines that reasonable cause exists, the individual must be informed of that fact and directed to test as soon as practicable. An entry concerning the basis of reasonable cause, the direction to test given the crewmember and any refusal or other response should be documented. A log entry must be made whenever an official ship’s log is required to be carried.

Definition of “reasonable cause” – Reasonable cause means a probability exists, based on some evidence that a crewmember is intoxicated by or has used drugs. Generally the following elements must be present to have “reasonable cause” to require drug testing:

(1) Direct observation of the suspected crewmember and/or any physical evidence by two persons in supervisory positions. This means the supervisors must personally see the evidence for themselves. (2) There must be some physical, behavioral, or performance indication of use or intoxication. Indicators include but are not limited to an individual’s speech, behavior or appearance. Drugs and drug paraphernalia in clothing and personal property, or concealed in staterooms or elsewhere may also provide reasonable cause since these too are physical indicators. Smoke, breath and body odors may provide evidence. Slurred and incoherent speech, lack of coordination and balance, nodding and dozing off on watch, inability to report for duty, frequent or extended unexplained absences from assigned duties, sudden and wide changes of mood or attitude and many other observable variables are examples of some conditions, which could constitute reasonable cause. Since these circumstances and conditions could be caused by illness, injury, or other factors, as well as drugs, the decision to test for reasonable cause must be made with prudence and common sense.

Post-Accident Drug & Alcohol Testing

Regulatory Requirements – Post-accident drug and alcohol testing regulations apply to all U.S. commercial vessels operating anywhere in the world and all foreign vessels operating upon the navigable waters of the U.S. When a marine casualty occurs, the marine employer needs to make a timely, good faith determination as to whether the occurrence is or is likely to become a serious marine incident. See 46 CFR 4.06.) A marine employer shall require all persons (not limited to crewmembers) on board the vessel(s) whom the employer determines to be directly involved in a serious marine incident to be chemically tested for dangerous drugs and alcohol. Note: This regulation also applies to crewmembers aboard foreign flag vessels involved in a serious marine incident that occurs in U.S. waters.

For More information on USCG Drug testing Regulations – Click Here
For more Information on Marine employers responsibilities   – Click here

 To schedule a Coast Guard drug test Meridian MS service, Call (800) 219-7161. 

Did You Know?

Meridian is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Mississippi. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County and the principal city of the Meridian, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area. Along major highways, the city is 93 mi (150 km) east of Jackson, Mississippi; 154 mi (248 km) west of Birmingham, Alabama; 202 mi (325 km) northeast of New Orleans, Louisiana; and 231 mi (372 km) southeast of Memphis, Tennessee. Established in 1860 at the intersection of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad and Southern Railway of Mississippi, Meridian’s economy was built on the railways and goods transported on them. It became a strategic trading center. During the American Civil War, much of the city was burned to the ground by General William Tecumseh Sherman in the Battle of Meridian. Rebuilt after the war, the city entered a “Golden Age”, becoming the largest city in Mississippi between 1890 and 1930 and a leading center for manufacturing in the South. It had 44 trains coming in and out daily. Union Station, built in 1906, is now a multi-modal center, giving access to the Meridian Transit System, Greyhound Buses, and Trailways, averaging 242,360 passengers per year. Although the economy slowed with the decline of the railroad industry, the city has diversified, with healthcare, military, and manufacturing employing the most people in 2010. The population within the city limits, according to 2008 census estimates, is 38,232, but a population of 232,900 in a 45-mile (72 km) radius and 526,500 in a 65-mile (105 km) radius, of which 104,600 and 234,200 people respectively are in the labor force, feed the economy of the city.

The area is served by two military facilities, Naval Air Station Meridian and Key Field, which provide over 4,000 jobs. NAS Meridian is home to the Regional Counter-Drug Training Academy (RCTA) and the first local Department of Homeland Security in the state. Key Field is named after brothers Fred and Al Key, who set a world endurance flight record in 1935. The field is now home to the 186th Air Refueling Wing of the Air National Guard and a support facility for the 185th Aviation Brigade of the Army National Guard. Rush Foundation Hospital is the largest non-military employer in the region, employing 2,610 people. Among the city’s many arts organizations and historic buildings are the Riley Center, the Meridian Museum of Art, Meridian Little Theatre, and the Meridian Symphony Orchestra. Meridian was home to two Carnegie libraries, one for whites and one for African Americans. The Carnegie Branch Library, now demolished, was one of a number of Carnegie libraries built for blacks in the Southern United States during the segregation era. The city has been selected as the future location of the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Center (MAEC). Jimmie Rodgers, the “Father of Country Music”, was born in Meridian. Highland Park houses a museum which displays memorabilia of his life and career, as well as railroad equipment from the steam-engine era. The park is also home to the Highland Park Dentzel Carousel, a National Historic Landmark. It is the world’s only two-row stationary Dentzel menagerie in existence. Other notable natives include Miss America 1986 Susan Akin, James Chaney – an activist who was killed in the Mississippi civil rights workers murders in 1964, and Hartley Peavey, founder of Peavey Electronics headquartered in Meridian. The federal courthouse was the site of the 1966-1967 trial of suspects in the murder of Chaney and two other activists; it was the first time a white jury convicted a white official of a civil rights killing.

Health Screenings USA is pleased to provide drug, alcohol, occupational health and DNA testing services in Meridian MS.